Australian man arrested over bomb threat on Singapore-Perth flight

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An Australian man has been arrested by Singapore police after a budget Scoot airline flight was escorted back to the city-state’s Changi Airport because of a bomb threat.

The 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of criminal intimidation and police investigations are ongoing, CNA reported on Thursday.

Singapore’s air force and emergency services were activated to escort the Perth-bound Scoot flight back to Singapore, the budget airline said.

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A “precautionary” decision was made to turn back the flight about an hour into the journey “due to a bomb threat,” Scoot said without providing details of the threat.

Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said two F-15SG fighter planes were scrambled to escort the Scoot flight back to Changi Airport.

The flight had landed in Singapore where security checks were carried out, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines Group said.

A Perth-bound Scoot flight has been escorted back to Singapore after a bomb threat. Credit: AAP

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said one runway was closed for about an hour “to facilitate ground operations,” with eight arriving flights and six departures delayed because of the incident.

“Scoot is assisting the authorities with their investigations. As this is a security matter, we regret that we are unable to provide further details,” a representative said.

Fighter jets were also scrambled last September to escort a Singapore Airlines flight after a passenger made a bomb threat.